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Midtown feels absence of healthy fare
By MONIQUE FIELDS, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- Every two weeks Cassandra Floyd drives from her Midtown home to Pinellas Park to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. She makes the 50-minute round trip in a quest for romaine lettuce, nectarines, cherries, grapes, grapefruit, red onions and colorful bell peppers. The items are difficult to find in her neighborhood, which has only one large supermarket, a Winn-Dixie. But a health-conscious Floyd can't imagine living without them. "I patronize Wal-Mart," said Floyd, 27. "I hate it, but what am I going to do?" She knows fresh foods help protect against stroke, heart disease and diabetes. But fresh foods aren't plentiful or affordable in Midtown, where residents die from these ailments in greater numbers than other areas. The death rate for heart disease in Midtown was 454 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 425 per 100,000 in the county and 332 per 100,000 statewide, according to data collected for the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center and Bayfront Health System in 2001. For strokes, the rate was 131 per 100,000 in Midtown, compared to 98.9 per in the county and 67 in the state. And when it comes to diabetes, which strikes one in four black women older than 55, the rate in Midtown was 64 per 100,000, compared to only 26 per 100,000 for the county and state. "There are so many illnesses, especially heart disease, diabetes and cancer, that are certainly affected by diet, and having the best foods available is critical to better lifestyle choices," said Dr. Gary C. Dennis, an associate professor of neurological surgery at Howard University College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C. "Every day residents live without access (to a supermarket) is another day that impacts on the health status of not just residents in Midtown but the city," said Bettye Burnett-Scott, program coordinator of DIPPER, which aims to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in greater South Central St. Petersburg. The lone supermarket in Midtown -- the Winn-Dixie -- sits on the edge of the neighborhood and some residents say prices for fresh produce are too high . Mom-and-pop stores in the area are reluctant to stock foods that spoil in a few days, and when they do, the offerings are limited and pricey. Every Thursday, a truck hauling 150 dozen fresh collard greens pulls up to the intersection of 18th Avenue S and 22nd Street S at 9 a.m. A roadside stand is there. Its owner, known as "the greens man' in Midtown, helps workers unload the truck to send the greens to supermarkets throughout St. Petersburg. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the owner, Leo Washington, comes back bearing fruits and vegetables popular in the neighborhood. Washington has long since retired as a school teacher and is in the vegetable and fruit business "as something to do." But he knows his business, Discount Enterprises, helps the community. "They tell me what to get," Washington said. "They fuss at me when I'm not here." Elsewhere, stores in Midtown tout themselves as grocery stores, but storefront windows are lined with advertisements for Kools cigarettes, Lotto and Old Milwaukee. Managers say they can't afford to stock fruits and vegetables. At Dave's Market, on 15th Avenue S, customers can find carrots, lemons, celery, potatoes and collard greens, but little else. Customers "get better deals with roadside markets and major grocers than they do with us," said Shadi Ittayem, the store's manager. C+J Grocery, on the corner of 18th Avenue S and 37th Street S, sells mangoes, snap beans, bananas, peaches and plums. But manager Franklin Bryant strategically places his offerings outside to stave off losses. "It's basically a three-day shelf life mostly," Bryant said. "If you refrigerate it, you can keep it five days." Midtown didn't always lack healthy foods. Joe Watkins, manager of Joe's Market, remembers when four small businesses in the shopping center located near 18th Avenue S and 31st Street S thrived. Today, several of the store's refrigerators are empty, a reminder that customers found other ways to get their fruits, meats and vegetables. "As time goes by, you end up throwing it away," Watkins said. There are efforts afoot to help Midtown residents take better care of themselves. A new clinic is in the works and scheduled to open in December 2003. Meanwhile, however, early signs of trouble are showing up on doctor's doorsteps. A 2-year-old child who weighs 90 pounds. A 14-year-old who weighs 200 pounds. Or 198, 189 or 173. "That's the drive-through diet," said Dr. Nadine American-Thomas, the staff pediatrician at the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center in Midtown. Doctors are often in a position of giving advice they know their patients can't use. "You can't promote seven to 11 servings of fruit today, if they're not accessible," American-Thomas said. "It comes down to education," Rajendra Karkare, co-medical director of the Community Health Centers of Pinellas. "You're more likely to go the extra way if you know its good for you." Theresa Lassiter, known as Momma Tee in Midtown, agrees. She is 46, has had five heart attacks and suffers from diabetes and hypertension. Six months ago, she changed her diet because she "didn't want to die." "I got tired of feeling sick all the time," she said. "It's a lot of people in the community dealing with diabetes. It's hard to change. You have to really struggle to get with the program." She is one of the lucky ones. She owns a car. On a recent trip to the Kash n' Karry at 18th Avenue S and 62nd Street S in Pinellas Point, she picked out what she needed: a head of lettuce, four cucumbers, green peppers, cabbage, a bag of baby carrots, a bunch of bananas, pineapple slices and slices of green cantaloupe. "If we had this in the 'hood," she said, "People would be blessed."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
